GFA leadership teaches that K.P. doesn’t just have limited authority as an employer, but also has authority over the personal life of the staff. It is commonly taught that K.P. and GFA leadership speak for God. Staff are not encouraged to search the Scriptures when given directives from leadership and are directly told not to pray about them. Instead, they are taught to unquestioningly obey all requests apart from very obvious sin. Even something as major as moving to Burma should be obeyed unquestioningly. K.P. once said at a prayer meeting that it would be sin to say “I’ll pray about it” instead of “Yes sir,” were he to request you move to Burma. Daniel P., John B. and David C. specifically have asserted on numerous occasions that staff must submit unconditionally to anything K.P. or leadership asks of them, even with respect to their families and personal lives. They teach that God will not hold a staff member accountable if they sin in following GFA leadership. They teach that only GFA leadership would be accountable in the event that leadership steered them wrong. This is a false teaching, very similar to the the Shepherding Movement of the 1970s. GFA leaders have also told some staff who wanted to leave that they didn’t approve them leaving, as though they would be in sin by rebelling against the God-appointed leaders of their entire lives if they leave.
On the field, K.P. functions as an episcopal bishop, with the title, “His Eminence (or H.E.) Most Reverend Dr. K.P. Yohannan, Metropolitan Bishop,” and wears the robe, hat, ring and some other accompanying items. Staff and leaders there commonly kneel or bow and kiss K.P.’s ring in a sign of veneration (some of us are witnesses to this and one former field leader says “everyone” does it.)
Read the Receiving Honor from Men page for an example.
- We believe this is not how Jesus taught and modeled authority. He Himself was a servant and washed the feet of His disciples, and they did not accept veneration from others or act as high priests.
- Biblically, not even bishops and elders have the authority to become mediators between God and men, as there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5)
- Christian leadership is to be “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:3) “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you.” (Mt 20:25-26)
- Leaders in the Church are given authority in order to edify and build up, never to boss their fellow servants around. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (Jn 13:13-14) “…set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12)
- “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church” (Eph 5:22-23) Husbands are to lead their wives, not have other men lead their wives. Wives are to submit to their own husbands, not the husband of another woman. In no event does Scripture say a husband should step aside and let a pastor or anyone else tell his wife directly what to do without going through him.
- See the Wikipedia article on hand kissing, excerpted here: “[Eastern] Orthodox Christians kiss their priest’s hands not only to honor their spiritual father confessor, but in veneration of the Body of Christ which the priest handles during the Divine Liturgy as he prepares Holy Communion. The profound bow is frequently omitted. A similar ritual occurs when an Orthodox Christian approaches an icon he wishes to venerate. First the Christian makes a profound bow and makes the sign of the cross twice. Then he approaches the icon more closely, kissing the icon, usually on the representation of Christ’s feet or the saint’s hand. Lastly, he will make a final profound bow and make the sign of the cross. Orthodox theology teaches that, honor given to the Virgin Mary, ascends to him who was enfleshed by her. This applies to saint’s relics or icons and in this case, to the priest’s hand.”
- On GFA’s unlinked page, www.gfa.org/believerschurch, they say “No matter what title we use, no man should take the place of God and His authority in our lives.” Yet K.P. claims to speak for God and have absolute authority over his staff, equating submission to him to submission to God.
- There does not seem to be much real accountability at GFA. The message is consistently submit to your leader. But to whom is Brother K.P. truly accountable? We know that there is a board, but the board knows little of the day to day workings of the Dallas office, and is stacked heavily with K.P.’s immediate family. Biblically, we believe that all believers are to submit to one another and we are told to exhort one another daily while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We are concerned that it does not seem that Brother K.P. is truly submitted to any church or group of men with whom he has regular contact. Overall, we believe Brother K.P. is a godly man, but we are all in a very dangerous place when we place ourselves outside and above the body.
- Hebrews 13:17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves,” is addressed to those submitting, not to the leader. We are commanded to be submissive, but submission is conferred, not usurped. Leaders are servants and Paul says in 1 Cor. 16:15 that those who “have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” are the very ones the saints obey. There is nothing more natural than following the leadership of the good, as evidenced by the patient submitting to the physician. But biblical authority is limited by the commandments of Scripture. Our spiritual leaders have no authority over us beyond what the Bible demands, and if they demand anything not commanded in Scripture, we are free to respectfully decline. For example, the Bible demands that we be faithful employees – so we submit to ordinary workplace requests. We also are to submit to church discipline issues where a local church is involved. But the Bible does not say Christian leaders can tell us where to live, how long to stay, what our call from God is, whom to marry or when, what house to buy, how many kids to have, etc. God, not man, decides the parameters of authority.
- In no event does Scripture allow for a leader to “own” someone with authority over their personal decisions. Leaders are not to exercise authority, giving orders as though it were a military organization with the leader as the commander. Even if someone believes they are called to serve a ministry for life, that kind of submission is voluntary, not compulsory.
- The Bible says that even when prophets speak in a meeting, “the others must judge” (1Cor.14:29) This means we are instructed not to accept everything a leader teaches without checking it out. K.P. and GFA leaders explicitly discourage their staff from checking what K.P. says through prayer and Bible study, saying they do not need to check and see whether it is scriptural or if they should follow it, but should unquestioningly accept it.